The Nerdy World of Custom Lego Sets

I would absolutely love to call myself a LEGO enthusiast, but having just heard about custom LEGO sets, I’m pretty sure I have quite a ways to go. I’ve been faithfully visiting toy store shelves to see what’s new in licensed LEGOs (lots, by the way), but I had no idea that people made super awesome license-free sets that look like some of our most fave pieces of the nerdverse. No idea.

There are a few schools of thought happening in this little corner of LEGOphilia. First, there are sets that you can purchase and put together, just like the real thing. The price range of these is pretty huge, so there’s probably something out there you can afford even if you’ve been putting off buying LEGOs so you can save for your kid’s college tuition (or even if you’re putting all of your cash into ramen and mac and cheese).

The other school of thought is that sets can be made by anyone, but custom-painted minifigs are very much worth collecting. This makes some sense, since it’s pretty common for people to buy real LEGO sets just for the minifigs inside. Everyone knows those little brick people is where LEGO gets all of its character.

So let’s begin custom minifigs, shall we?

A good place to find the highest quality, most chuckle-inducing minifigs is Citizen Brick. Of course, just like how they take some creative liberty with the name LEGO, Citizen Brick’s custom minifigs are obviously meant to be our favorites from stuff like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, but they can’t say that. Instead, these awesomely cheeky minifigs are called “Dragon Sword Fighter Force” and “Albuquerque Action Squad” respectively.

The generically named Dragon Sword Fighter Force may not clue you in on what the set is alluding to, but their font choice leaves little room for doubt.

Before you start getting your credit card out, you should probably know that these custom minifigs are pretty spendy. But of course, there are those of you out there for whom the cost is undeniably worth it. With the option to make a minifig version of yourself or your friends and even a George R.R. Martin (sorry, “Sir Typesalot”) bonus tacked on when you buy the whole Dragon Sword Fighter set, the price tag begins to seem a little more irrelevant. Just eat more ramen, you’ll be fine.

While Citizen Brick is probably the most established independent custom minifig outlet, don’t overlook the little guy. Tons of Etsy shops sell custom printed or painted minifigs like this one of Rick from the Walking Dead by Tinkerbrick.

If you’re into Breaking Bad, the custom minifig market seems to be simply saturated with Walter White minifigs, so making the tiny meth lab of your dreams (or having a little W.W. in your pocket) will be a piece of cake.

Alright, you get the point: there’s a custom minifig out there for whatever you’re into. But what about cool vehicles, you ask? I mean, who has time to sit around with a pile of bricks trying to figure out how to build the U.S.S. Enterprise? Not me. I’d rather pay Ichiban Toys to send me a set of bricks to put together.

Think of a car from a movie or TV show that would be cool as a LEGO set. It’s ok, just do it. You don’t have to tell anyone. Have one in mind? Good.